8 May 2012

Job announcements for May week 1

An ideal time to approach an organisation is when it is planning or experiencing
major change. Growth, new contracts, increased profits, new offices, new
divisions or changes in strategy call all trigger the need for new people and
skills. We track these announcements every week. Here are the top 15 for this
week:

thebigword Leeds based language services firm, thebigword, is
recruiting up to 1,000 extra linguists to help meet demand from its expanding
international growth. Combined revenues for the nine global offices are to reach
£42m by the year ending May 2012. The business is doubling its public sector
revenue during 2012 after contract wins in the UK and the United States. These
include four year contract with the Home Office to provide face-to-face
interpreting in than 250 different languages and dialects. The company has also
won preferred supplier status for interpreting services to 12 London NHS trusts.

Nakama Technology recruitment company Nakama is expanding
internationally due to exceptional growth in the smartphone market. The company
has applied for a licence to operate in Shanghai, China, and is also opening an
office in Singapore in April 2012. Staff numbers are expected to grow from 50 to
75 by the end of 2012.

Blitz Games Expanding games developer Blitz
is creating 20 roles at all levels at its base in Leamington Spa, West Midlands.
Jobs will be available for senior, tools and graphics programmers. Blitz is
working on several new titles and is working in partnership with global
publishers. 2010 turnover £10.3m, 218 employees.

Barton Technology
Surrey-based Barton Technology has opened three new branches in the South
East after securing new business. It is creating 10 jobs at the offices in
London, Horsham and Maidstone. The company, which provides IT and telecoms
services, is recruiting for engineer and sales support roles. It currently
employs 18 staff.

Brewin Dolphin Investment manager Brewin Dophin is
opening an office in Ipswich in May 2012, increasing its national network of
offices to 42. The Ipswich office will be run by a team of four former Barclays
Wealth employees. Brewin Dolphin manages £24bn of funds for 130,000 private
clients. 2011 turnover £264m, 1,863 employees.

Southern Electric Gas
Southern Electric is expanding its annual energy review service, creating
200 new jobs at its Hampshire customer service centre in service and managerial
positions

Glenside Care Group Glenside Care Group has acquired the
former Winterbourne View Independent Hospital in Bristol. The company will spend
£1.5m refurbishing and adapting the facility as a neurological centre. Glenside
currently employs 350 staff and expects to create 100 jobs by the time the
hospital is fully operational.

Elekta Elekta, a global medical
technology company dedicated to oncology and neuroscience clinical advancements,
has created 80 new positions at its Crawley plant to support the manufacturing
of its new cancer treatment.

Decora Blind Systems Lisburn window
blind manufacturer Decora Blind Systems is creating 79 jobs with support from
Invest Northern Ireland's Jobs Fund. The company is investing £2million in
additional salaries over the two years to 2014. It currently employs 377 people.

Positive Outcomes Nottingham recruitment specialist Positive
Outcomes is looking to fill 50 jobs after three years of significant growth and
business success. Turnover has increased tenfold and staff numbers increased
from 45 to 250 since 2009. The company is also looking to increase their office
space by 2000 sq ft.

Barrhead Travel 2007 Scottish travel company
Barrhead Travel has opened its first office in England in Cumbria, creatin 40
jobs. The company plans to expand further over the next six months. It employs
550 people in 34 offices across Scotland.

LSL Property Services The
parent company of estate agent Your Move and Reeds Rains, LSL Property Services,
is to expand its Exeter business operations creating more than 40 jobs. The
Company is to relocate its insurance and financial services support divisions to
provide room for their expansion.

Cygnet Group Limited Cheshire
engineering group Cygnet has created 40 new jobs as part of the relocation of
its automation and machinery business Cygnet Integrated Solutions. The business
has moved locations, and is targeting a threefold increase in turnover in 2012
with projects worth nearly £20m.

M/A-COM Technology Solutions
M/A-COM Technology Solutions, a leading supplier of high performance analog
semiconductor solutions, is to expand operations in its Cork base in Ireland.
Thirty new jobs will be created at the base as a direct result. The Cork plant
acts as international headquarters and the centre for the company’s integrated
circuit design.